Gaza ministry says two children died in hospital in Israeli raid

The health ministry in Gaza said on Friday that two children died at the last functioning hospital in the territory's north after Israeli fire hit oxygen equipment, while the military told AFP it was unaware of strikes in the area.

The Israeli military said its forces were operating around Kamal Adwan Hospital in the Jabalia refugee camp in north Gaza, where it launched a major operation earlier this month.

The operation sparked fresh concerns about the war's civilian toll, with U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk saying the conflict's "darkest moment" was unfolding in northern Gaza.

"Two children have died in the intensive care unit after the hospital's generators failed and the oxygen station was targeted," the health ministry said in a statement.

Israeli forces "are searching the hospital and firing within different departments, increasing the panic and anxiety," it added.

The World Health Organization earlier said it had lost contact with staff at the hospital since Friday morning.

"This development is deeply disturbing given the number of patients being served and people sheltering there," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

Gaza's health ministry earlier said Israel's forces "stormed" the hospital, "detaining hundreds of patients, medical staff and some displaced individuals from neighboring areas who sought refuge."

Israel said it had allowed the transfer of 23 patients out of the hospital on Thursday night, which was confirmed by the WHO.

Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO representative for the Palestinian territories, said he witnessed "mayhem and chaos" at the hospital on Thursday.

At a checkpoint close to the hospital, the visiting WHO team saw "thousands of women and children leaving that area, walking, limping with their few belongings" towards Gaza City, he added.

AFP